ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN (AFP) - Alex McLeish refused to quit as Scotland manager after their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign got off to a "horrible" start with a humiliating 3-0 defeat against Kazakhstan on Thursday (March 21).
The Kazakhs, ranked 117th in the world, struck twice inside 10 minutes through Yuriy Pertsukh and Yan Vorogovskiy to leave an under-strength Scotland shell-shocked in the Group I clash in Nursultan.
McLeish's men secured the safety net of a playoff to qualify via the Nations League in November and already that looks like their only realistic route to a first major tournament in 22 years as Baktiyor Zainutdinov's terrific header made it 3-0 six minutes into the second half.
It was one of the most embarrassing results in Scotland's history and McLeish admitted his players had paid the price for their woeful start.
"It was horrible. They hit us with two blockbusters," McLeish said. "It was disappointing not to see a great reaction from that.
"At half-time we tried to change it a wee bit to see if we could unsettle Kazakhstan, but they were very sharp on the night.
"It's a sore one. The facts are that we were beaten by a team ranked lower than us.
"On paper, we should win but I think you have to give Kazakhstan a bit of credit for the way they played." Scotland have a painful history of falling victim to shock results against the game's minnows, but Kazakhstan are the lowest ranked nation to beat Scotland.
In terms of the misery inflicted only a 1-0 defeat against Lithuania in a European Championship qualifier in 2003 and a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in the 1990 World Cup compare to the Kazakhstan shocker.
A draw against the Faroe Islands in 2002 was another low point, as were the 1978 World Cup draw with Iran and a 4-0 thrashing by Norway in 2009.
McLeish to battle on
When it was put to McLeish that it could be enough to cost him his job, the former Rangers boss vowed to fight on.
"I'll just continue doing my job and suffice it to say I'm not going to get drawn into that question," he said.
"It possibly puts more pressure on me. We have introduced a few new names over the last year or so and it can take time, but I know we don't have time." Asked if the loss was the worst of his career, McLeish added: "I don't really rank defeats. I just feel in terms of losing then I have to bounce back.
"I always feel low after a defeat but I'm pretty good at bouncing back." Without captain Andy Robertson and the highly-rated Kieran Tierney, McLeish was forced to name Graeme Shinnie in an unfamiliar role at left-back, and the Aberdeen skipper was exposed for both the first two goals.
Scotland looked longingly for an offside flag that never came as Pertsukh ran onto a long ball over the top and fired high past the helpless Scott Bain.
The visitors never recovered and Shinnie was caught ball-watching as Vorogovskiy was picked out by Islambek Kuat's pass to slot past Bain again.
Kazakhstan scored just six goals and failed to win a game in their entire qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
However, they had half that goal tally and the three points sewn up before the hour mark when Scott McKenna was outjumped by Zainutdinov, who directed his header across Bain into the bottom corner.
Scotland were also without Ryan Fraser and Charlie Mulgrew, who were not selected in agreement with their clubs due to the plastic surface the match was played on.
Bouncing back with victory away to San Marino on Sunday (March 24) is now imperative for Scotland to have any chance of automatic qualification from Group I by finishing in the top two.
But with Russia and World Cup semi-finalists Belgium also in the six-team group, Scotland already have a mountain to climb.
Just days after Italy saw Moise Kean become its youngest scorer in over 60 years, Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella set a new mark on the other end of age range
Quagliarella becomes oldest Italy scorer | The Daily Star
Inside Chelsea: Kepa row, Spurs blast - where it all went wrong for stubborn Sarri CHELSEA boss Maurizio Sarri is under pressure ahead of Wednesday's Premier League clash with Tottenham.
Solskjaer makes effort to talk to Callum Hudson-Odoi after
"Neymar Jr will travel to Aspetar (sports clinic) in Qatar for the next 3 days as scheduled in the initial recovery plan," the club wrote on its Twitter account. "He will undertake a complete assessment after six weeks of his injury. He will be accompanied by a medical team from PSG."
Neymar heads to Qatar for medical assessment | Sport24
Local embassy - For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English. Reference desk - Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects. Site news - Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Young Lions' new-found belief - theworldnews.net
Barca stroll to their 26th LaLiga title, Football News & Top
LONDON: Chelsea suffered a setback in their push for a Champions League spot when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Burnley in the Premier League on Monday and tempers flared at the end of the match when Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri was sent to the stands.
Football: Chelsea held 2-2 by Burnley, denting Champions
Premier League leaders Manchester City recovered from two goals down to beat Championship side Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals. Having secured a last-eight spot in the Champions League to go with their League Cup title, City made a strong start as they looked to continue their quest to
Man City Come From Two Goals Down To Reach FA Cup Last Four
Football: Barca's Dembele back training ahead of Man United clash BARCELONA (AFP) - Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele returned to team training on Thursday (April 4), increasing hopes that he will recover from his hamstring injury in time for next week's Champions League trip to Manchester United.
Dembele back training ahead of Man United clash | Sport24
Latest Singapore News. Scoot flight from Taipei to Singapore delayed for over 10 hours - TODAYonline; Football: Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas is I-League's best coach as champions Chennai City sweep awards - The Straits Times; Singaporean, 36, died in Bintan while on diving course
Customer Service Associate (Permanent) - iElite Singapore
Football: Lukaku double inspires Man United to 3-1 win at Palace LONDON (REUTERS) - Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku rediscovered his finishing touch in fine fashion, scoring a superb goal in each half to help them to a 3-1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace on Wednesday (Feb 27).
Lukaku double inspires Man United to 3-1 win at Palace
Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus will not travel to the US for the pre-season International Champions Cup in the summer, avoiding fears the star forward could be arrested over rape claims in the country.
Juve to avoid US pre-season amid Ronaldo rape claims - report
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen